Devine defends Rally of the Lakes with stylish win
Sealing their second Irish Tarmac victory in a row, Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan successfully defended their Killarney crown with a 25.1-second Rally of the Lakes victory over Robert Barrable and Gordon Noble.
The Volkswagen Polo R5 crew held a 7.5-second overnight lead after usurping Killarney’s early pacesetters Rob Duggan and Ger Conway on stage four, Ardgroom.
Devine was the fastest out of the blocks on Sunday morning’s Moll’s Gap opener. The leading crews wished they had bolted wet tyres onto their rally cars as they encountered wet conditions on their race between Killarney and Kenmare.
Four seconds separated Devine, Barrable, and Duggan through the famous 17.5-kilometre test. Devine and Killarney co-driver O’Sullivan grabbed another stage win thanks to a committed attack through Ballaghbeama. A brave Barrable was staying in touch, 13 seconds behind with six stages remaining.
Josh Moffett showed a glimpse of his usual pace on Ballaghbeama, setting the third-fastest time. The reigning Tarmac champion had extended his advantage over Sam Moffett to 9.7 seconds after stage ten.
Sam Moffett’s intentions to bounce back on the succeeding Moll’s Gap test didn’t come to fruition. Instead, his rally-long brotherly battle ended when his Hyundai i20 Rally2 slid into a chicane backwards.
Barrable was another to suffer a Moll’s Gap setback. The West Cork Rally runner-up’s gamble to take a harder compound of tyres for Killarney’s second loop of the day didn’t pay off. The stage hadn’t dried fast enough and Barrable dropped 13 seconds to Devine, falling into the clutches of Duggan.
Duggan saw his opportunity to steal Killarney’s second spot and set a rapid time through the second pass of Ballaghbeama. The Killarney man clearly enjoyed the test, going fastest by nine seconds, jumping ahead of Barrable to hold second by 5.4 seconds.
Devine’s lead was now up to 25.7 seconds with four stages to go but a steering issue gave him a scare and kept his service crew busy before heading to the next Gortnagane test.
Gortnagane was won by Barrable who slipped back ahead of Duggan now that his tyre nightmare had ended. The sun was out in Kerry with the remaining stages offering a bundle of grip to the remaining competitors.
Duggan pipped Barrable on the next Knockrower East test to jump back into second. The gap between the two crews was just 1.5 seconds with two stages left to go.
Meanwhile, the modified race had turned on its head on Killarney’s 14th stage. Kevin Eves, who had starred at the front of the two-wheel-drive pack all weekend, finished Knockrower East freewheeling his Toyota Corolla.
Somehow Eves still held the two-wheel-drive lead and fifth overall. Unfortunately, though, he was unable to return for the Rally of the Lakes’ final loop.
Jason Black and Karl Egan would have inherited the modified lead after excelling through Sunday’s stages. But their Toyota Starlet was stricken on the same Knockrower East test after its propshaft broke.
Gary Kiernan unexpectedly picked up the modified lead with two stages remaining. He held a one-minute lead over Eddie Doherty after his nearest rival Chris Armstrong retired earlier in the day with a broken driveshaft on Ballaghbeama.
Kiernan and John McGrath cruised through Killarney’s final two stages to seal their victory and a mighty sixth overall. Doherty sealed second in two-wheel-drive, just reward for some great driving amid weekend-long power steering issues.
John McCarthy made it a Ford Escort Mk2 lockout on the modified podium and in turn secured Class 13’s top spot.
Back at the front, Duggan’s epic R5 performance unravelled on the penultimate stage. His Polo slid wide and into a bank on Gortnagane. Duggan managed to complete the test, dropping several minutes, but opted not to risk further damage and returned to service before the final stage.
Devine completed Killarney’s final two stages without drama to seal his second Rally of the Lakes victory with Noel O’Sullivan. Robert Barrable settled for another runner-up finish but he can take plenty of confidence from his latest rally-challenging performance.
Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes rounded out the podium positions after a weekend staying under the radar.
Enda O’Brien and Declan Boyle enjoyed a great duel in their Volkswagen Polos. O’Brien finished on top, by 7.3 seconds, to claim fourth overall and Onthepacenote’s unofficial “ Masters” win.
Ioan Lloyd claimed an incredible 1.5-second victory in Rally4 pipping Kyle McBride on the very last stage. The front-wheel-drive class showcased some incredible driving and battles all weekend.
Casey Jay Coleman had led the class by 43.5 seconds after Sunday morning’s stages. Unfortunately, a crash on Gortnagane put his Ford Fiesta Rally4 on the list of retirees. Keelan Grogan finished Saturday 11.8 seconds behind Coleman but retired on stage nine after colliding with a chicane on Moll’s Gap.
Photos by D Harrigan Images
